“I threw mostly two-seamers in the early innings and then switched to four-seamers in the second half. I tried to use my changeup and curveball appropriately.”
LG Twins right-hander Choi Won-tae, 26, picked up his first win in five games. On April 24, he pitched seven innings of six-hit ball against the Hanwha Eagles and allowed one run for his ninth win of the season. His fastball topped out at 148 kilometers per hour and he struck out seven. LG won the last meeting with Hanwha this season, 5-1. They are now 9-1 and tied at 6. .
It was the first win in more than 40 days. Choi Won-tae hasn’t won since Aug. 12 against the Kiwoom Heroes. From Aug. 18 against the SSG Landers to Sept. 10 against the KIA Tigers, he went 1-0 with an 11.88 ERA in four games. He hasn’t been trusted as the third or fourth starter.
Choi Won-tae is a key piece of the core that the Heroes acquired in exchange for two top prospects and a rookie first-round pick in their quest for their first championship in 29 years.
바카라사이트Manager Yoon Kyung-yeop cited a high number of innings pitched and a declining fastball percentage as reasons for the slump. He pitched 105⅔ innings for the Heroes last year, and before this game, he had pitched 135 innings. “My fastball is powerful, but when it wasn’t working, I increased my changeup percentage. The change in pitching pattern led to bad results,” he diagnosed.
Choi Won-tae, who made his comeback after 14 days of rest, looked different from his previous game.
He struck out the first three batters he faced. He struck out Lee Jin-young in the first, walked Choi In-ho in the second and struck out Chae Eun-sung and Nick Williams in the third and fourth.
In the top of the second, Choi Jae-hoon walked Jung Eun-won in the fifth and gave up a double down the left field line to Park Jung-hyun in the seventh. The next batter, Jang Jin-hyuk, grounded into an infield single to end the inning.
After retiring the next three batters, the top of the fourth inning was scoreless. In the top of the fifth, he gave up a home run to Lee Jin-young.
Kim Jin-sung and Park Dong-won celebrate after the game. Jamsil=Sang-wook Heo 기자wook@sportschosun.com
Jamsil = Heo Sang-wook 기자wook@sportschosun.com
C. The only run of the game.
In the top of the sixth inning, with runners on first and second, he struck out Park Jung-hyun. Threw 83 pitches through the sixth inning. Worked the top of the seventh and retired the next three batters.
“While I was resting and preparing again, Coach Shin Jae-woong, Coach Kim Yong-il, and Coach Kyung Hun-ho helped me a lot, so I was able to prepare well,” Choi said.
LG’s long-awaited return of Choi Won-tae.
“Choi Won-tae played a good role as a starter by increasing the ratio of his fastball and changeup, which gave us a platform for victory,” said Yoon Kyung-yeop.
The batting lineup also supported Choi’s return with a home run. Kim Hyun-soo, Austin Dean, Oh Ji-hwan, and Kim Min-sung fired the cannon from 3-6.